Plurk: Microsoft went to great lengths to steal code

Plurk has issued an official response to Microsoft's apology, and it isn't …

Plurk has issued an official response to Redmond's apology for stealing Plurk's code for use in the microblogging service Juku. The startup isn't ruling out taking the software giant to court. "We are still thinking of pursuing the full extent of our legal options available due the seriousness of the situation. Basically, Microsoft accepts responsibility, but they don't offer accountability."

Earlier this week, Plurk accused Microsoft of stealing about 80 percent of its code to create the microblog Juku for MSN China. Redmond responded by pulling the site down and starting an investigation. So far, Microsoft has "acknowledged that a portion of the code they provided was indeed copied," though it blamed a vendor for doing the stealing, which was "in clear violation of the vendor's contract with the MSN China joint venture, and equally inconsistent with Microsoft's policies respecting intellectual property."

Plurk further explained that it has only been around for two years, still doesn't have a marketing department or a sales department, and that all capital is put toward development. The startup even offers open source code for some parts of its efforts. After trying to win over the reader by showing how small, but hard-working the company is, Plurk gets serious again. Apparently, Microsoft went to great lengths to the steal the code, according to Plurk: "This event wasn't just a simple matter of merely lifting code; due to the nature of the uniqueness of our product and user interface, it took a good amount of deliberate studying and digging through our codes with the full intention of replicating our product user experience, functionality, and end results."

Microsoft then had the advantage of its huge marketing budget for promoting its "innovative product" while Plurk stood by the wayside. At least Microsoft's huge mistake is giving Plurk a ton of free publicity.